Appointment of Director General (Safeguard) under Customs Tariff safeguard rules, superseding prior notification and formalising administrative authority.
Pursuant to sub rule (1) of rule 3 of the Customs Tariff (Identification and Assessment of Safeguard Duty) Rules, 1997, the Central Government appoints Shri Ram Tirath as Director General (Safeguard) for the purposes of those rules, by notification that supersedes the earlier Government of India notification No. 115/2013 Customs (N.T.), dated 27th November, 2013, and is published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary.

Duty exemption conditions amended to tighten proof of use and destruction requirements for goods under Letter of Permission.
Amendment tightens exemptions under the LoP by requiring customs officer satisfaction that capital goods were installed or used within the unit during LoP validity and that non-capital goods were used in production, packaging for export, or cleared for home consumption within LoP validity. Duty is not leviable where specified goods are destroyed within the unit after intimation or outside with Customs permission, subject to officer satisfaction; units manufacturing and exporting precious metals and stones are excluded. "Letter of Permission (LoP)" is defined as in Chapter 6 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20.

Anti-dumping duty on USB flash drives imposed to counter dumped imports and address material injury to domestic industry.
Imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of USB Flash Drives from the People's Republic of China and Chinese Taipei, covering specified tariff headings and alternative market names, with duty rates stated per piece in US dollars for origin/export combinations. The duty follows findings that exports were made below normal value causing material injury attributable to dumped imports; it is imposed under section 9A and relevant rules, applies for five years from Gazette publication, is payable in Indian currency, and uses Government-specified exchange rates with the bill-of-entry date as the relevant date.

Anti-dumping duty on cast aluminium alloy wheels imposed to counter dumped imports and protect domestic industry, with origin-specific rates.
Imposition of a definitive anti-dumping duty on Cast Aluminium Alloy Wheels (12-24 inches) originating in or exported from the People's Republic of China, Korea RP and Thailand, applied by producer- and exporter-specific classifications with prescribed per-kilogram duty rates in US dollars, including listed producers/exporters and residual categories. The duty converts provisional measures into definitive measures under the Customs Tariff Act and related rules, is payable in Indian currency, and is levied for five years from 11 April 2014; exchange rate for conversion is the government-specified rate on the bill-of-entry date.

Anti-dumping duty on pentaerythritol to counter dumped imports, imposing scheduled duties and five-year protection.
Imposes a definitive anti-dumping duty on pentaerythritol (heading 2905 42) originating in or exported from Russia for five years, following findings of dumping, material injury to the domestic industry, and causation by dumped imports. The notification prescribes duty rates per metric tonne in US dollars in a table covering direct exports from Russia, exports via third countries, and goods originating elsewhere but exported from Russia; duties are payable in Indian currency and calculated using the exchange rate applicable on bill of entry presentation.

Exchange Rate Determination: Revised foreign currency conversion rates for imports and exports under Customs Act authority.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs determines distinct exchange rates for foreign currencies into Indian rupees for imported and export goods, effective 22nd May, 2015, superseding the earlier notification of 7th May, 2015; the rates are set out in Schedule I (per unit) and Schedule II (per 100 units) for use under section 14 of the Customs Act in relation to valuation and conversion for imported and exported goods.

Anti-dumping duty on sodium citrate imports from China imposed to counter dumping and protect domestic industry for five years.
Imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of Sodium Citrate originating in or exported from the People's Republic of China for five years following designated authority findings that subject goods were dumped, caused material injury to domestic industry, and that dumped imports were the cause. The notification prescribes duty rates by tariff item and product description, applies reductions for applicable safeguard duty, requires payment in Indian currency, and fixes exchange rate determination to government notifications with the bill of entry date as relevant date.

Shipping bill declaration requirements updated to mandate specified document attachments and a FEMA undertaking for exporters.
The amendment replaces the declaration in the Shipping Bill (Electronic Declaration) Regulations, 2011 to require exporters to affirm that particulars are true, to enclose specified documents (duty exemption/advance authorisation, invoice/invoice cum packing list, quota/inspection certificates, and others), to provide exporter and customs broker identification and signature, and to undertake compliance with the Foreign Exchange Management Act regarding foreign exchange realisation or repatriation; APPENDIX 1 is omitted.

Anti dumping duty on morpholine continued for imports from China and European Union; United States imports excluded.
The Central Government, after a mid term review, revoked anti dumping duty on morpholine imports from the United States and continued definitive anti dumping duties on imports originating in or exported from the People's Republic of China and the European Union, with specified producer and exporter specific rates per kilogram in US Dollar terms and pairing rules for country of origin and export. The duties remain in force up to and including 19th September 2016, and the rate of exchange for calculation is as notified under the Customs Act with the bill of entry date as the relevant date.

Tariff value fixation for specified imported commodities updated, substituting prior tables and prescribing new per unit customs valuation.
Substitutes TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 of the principal customs non-tariff notification to fix tariff values in US dollars per metric tonne (or other specified unit) for listed imported commodities, including crude palm oil and variants, crude soybean oil, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and unit values for gold and silver when certain notification entries are availed.

Foreign Trade Policy alignment modernises customs exemption definitions and procedural cross references across notifications.
Amendments align multiple customs exemption notifications with the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 and the corresponding Handbook of Procedures by substituting prior cross references and explanatory clauses. Key substitutions redefine terms including "Foreign Trade Policy", "Handbook of Procedures", "Replenishment Authorisation", "Nominated agencies" and "Status holder" to the 2015-2020 framework, update paragraph citations, and adjust operative rules for EOUs and related units on inter unit transfers, sharing of infrastructure, external warehousing and fast track de bonding.

Customs tariff amendment replaces "within Chapter 27" with "under Heading 2710" to narrow exemption scope.
The Central Government directs that, by exercise of statutory power and in the public interest, the words "within Chapter 27" in Notification No. 190/78-Customs and Notification No. 191/78-Customs (both dated 22nd September, 1978) be substituted with the words "under Heading 2710," thereby narrowing the tariff reference in those exemption notifications.

Exchange rate determination sets conversion rates for specified foreign currencies for customs import and export valuation.
Determination under section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 prescribes conversion rates between specified foreign currencies and Indian rupees effective 8th May, 2015 for customs treatment of imported and export goods, superseding the earlier notification of 16th April, 2015 except as to prior actions; rates are set separately for imports and exports in Schedule I (unit rates for seventeen currencies) and Schedule II (rates per 100 units for Japanese Yen and Kenya Shilling).

Customs exemption for LNG imports for power generation, subject to supply documentation, utilisation certificates and corporate guarantee.
Exemption for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and natural gas (NG) imported by GAIL for supply as RLNG to generating companies for generating and supplying electricity is inserted (serial 139B) and effective from 1 April 2017. The exemption excludes captive generating plants and requires a self-declaration of quantity at import, production of sale invoices and utilisation certificates within prescribed periods, a GAIL corporate guarantee equal to the duty differential, and an importer undertaking to pay the duty difference with interest if conditions are not met; excess verified quantity permits duty adjustment on future imports.

Exchange rate notification updated for Swiss franc conversion, altering import and export rupee equivalents and effective from the notified date.
Amendment to Notification No. 38/2015-CUSTOMS (N.T.) substitutes the Schedule-I entry for Serial No. 15 by replacing the Swiss franc entry with new rupee conversion rates for imported goods and for export goods; the substituted rates are effective from the notified date and are issued under the Customs Board's administrative reference and signature.

Anti-dumping duty extension on PTFE continues under statutory review, prolonging the existing notification's force pending further action.
The Central Government, exercising powers under the Customs Tariff Act and the relevant Customs Tariff Rules, has amended the principal notification to insert a new paragraph stating that the anti-dumping duty notification on Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) originating in or exported from Russia shall remain in force up to and inclusive of the 2nd day of May, 2016, unless revoked earlier.

Tariff value fixation updated for specified imports, substituting prior customs tariff tables and setting valuation benchmarks.
Amendment under section 14(2) of the Customs Act substitutes new TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 in Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) to fix tariff values in US dollars for specified imports, including edible oils, oilseeds, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and certain gold and silver categories when concessionary entries are availed, establishing commodity-specific valuation benchmarks for customs assessment.

Exchange rate notification updates conversion rates for specified foreign currencies, altering import and export rates effective May.
Amendment under Section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 substitutes entries in SCHEDULE-I of Notification No. 38/2015-CUSTOMS (N.T.), replacing rates for Danish Kroner, Euro, Norwegian Kroner, Pound Sterling and Swedish Kroner with distinct import and export conversion figures; these rates are declared effective from 1st May, 2015.

Customs tariff amendment inserts new headings for specified coke products, granting a concessional duty rate on imports.
Amendment inserts S.No. 20A into the Table of Notification No. 27/2011 Customs to cover tariff headings 2601 11 41 and 2601 11 42, prescribing that "All goods" under those headings are subject to a 10% duty rate, effected under the power of section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 as a further amendment to the principal notification.

Defense-related import exemption expanded to cover naval, coast guard and military equipment, subject to prescribed duty-exemption certificates.
The amendment inserts S. No. 9A exempting goods for construction or fitment to Indian Navy or Coast Guard ships, and S. No. 10A exempting aircraft, aircraft parts, production tooling, arms, ammunition, radars, guided weapons and related components and spares, subject to import by Government contractors, Central Government PSUs or sub-contractors and the importer furnishing at import a duty exemption certificate evidencing Ministry purchase order details and corresponding supplier orders; explanatory clauses specify authorised certifying officers. The amendment is effective 1 June 2015.